France Football magazine has published the names of their top 50 managers of all-time with former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson ranking second. The list that has stirred up a mixed reaction since its release on Monday had former France national team boss Rinus Michels named ahead of the legendary Scottish manager.
Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge of Manchester United between 1986 and 2013 where he oversaw 1,500 games for the Red Devils. During his tenure, the Old Trafford outfit successfully strolled to 13 Premier League titles, clinched two UEFA Champions League titles, as well as five FA Cups and five League Cups.
Apparently, the Scots honors proved inadequate to pip legendary Dutchman Rinus Michels to the top spot on the list. The late Ajax and Barcelona manager enjoyed a successful managerial spell between 1960 and 1992 and is mostly credited with the invention of "Total Football".
Michels led Ajax to five league titles and a European Cup and also won La Liga as the head coach of Barcelona. He subsequently led the Netherlands to the World Cup final in 1974 and to European Championship triumph in 1988. In 1999, he was named by FIFA as the Coach of the Century.
Meanwhile, France Football magazine named Arrigo Sacchi, Johan Cruyff, and Pep Guardiola to complete the top five respectively. The latter was the only Premier League manager in the Top 10 with Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp ranking 27th and Newcastle's Rafa Benitez finishing 37th.
Marcelo Bielsa of Leeds was the only Championship manager in the list at No. 48 while ex-Liverpool boss Bill Shankly joined Sir Alex Ferguson as only the second Brit named in the Top 10.
Below is the full list of France Football magazine's 50 greatest managers of all-time:
1. Rinus Michels
2. Sir Alex Ferguson